Learn Hardcore Hungarian: A buszmegálló távol volt az étteremtől, ezért gyalog mentünk. - The bus stop was far from the restaurant, so we went on foot.

The suffix -től is the ablative case marker in Hungarian, showing “from” or “away from” a location. Attaching it to étterem gives étteremtől = “from the restaurant.” It also follows vowel harmony: since étterem has front vowels (é/e/e), it takes the front-vowel suffix -től rather than the back-vowel -tól.

Why is there an article az before étteremtől?

Even when a noun has a case suffix, Hungarian uses the definite article (a/az) with definite nouns. So az étteremtől = “from the restaurant.” Without the article, it would sound indefinite or incorrect in this context.

What is the function of távol volt, and why isn’t there a single verb meaning “was far”?

Hungarian doesn’t have one verb that means “to be far.” Instead, you pair the adjective távol (“far”) with the verb van/volt (“is/was”). Here volt is the past form, so távol volt literally means “was far.”

Could you replace távol with messze?

Yes. messze is a synonym of távol and also combines with van/volt: messze volt az étteremtől conveys exactly the same meaning: “it was far from the restaurant.”

Why is there a comma before ezért, and what role does ezért play?

Ezért is a conjunctive adverb meaning “therefore/so.” It links two main clauses, and Hungarian punctuation requires a comma before such connectors: “..., ezért ...” signals the cause–result relationship.

What does gyalog mean and why is it placed before mentünk?

Gyalog is an adverb meaning “on foot/by foot.” Manner adverbs in Hungarian normally precede the verb, so gyalog mentünk = “we went on foot.”

Why isn’t there a pronoun mi for “we” in mentünk?

Hungarian verbs are conjugated to show the subject. Mentünk is already the first-person plural past form of menni (“to go”), so you don’t need to add mi unless you want to emphasize “we.”

Could you say mentünk gyalog, or use sétáltunk instead?

mentünk gyalog is also correct; word order in Hungarian is flexible, though gyalog mentünk is more neutral.
sétáltunk means “we strolled/walked leisurely,” emphasizing a leisurely walk, whereas gyalog mentünk focuses on walking as the means of getting somewhere.

How is buszmegálló formed, and why isn’t there a space or hyphen?

Buszmegálló is a compound noun formed from busz (“bus”) + megálló (“stop”). In Hungarian, compounds are typically written as one word without spaces or hyphens.

Is the word order fixed? Could you say Az étteremtől távol volt a buszmegálló, ezért gyalog mentünk?

Hungarian has relatively flexible word order. That version is perfectly grammatical; it just emphasizes the fact that the bus stop was far from the restaurant before stating what followed. The original order is more neutral in tone.